The first guitar chord played and my mind, which was wandering aimlessly, as it's prone to do, noticed it. Then, the first lyrics...
"She said, 'Call me when you get there'
My first time alone
Were my boot soles pressed the pedals
And both hands held the wheel
Finally on my own way
Riding 40 down the slow lane
As soon as I got parked
I kept my part of the deal
Hey, Ma, I made it down another open road
And even though I'm grown
Thought you might like to know
I got where I meant to go
And out here, one thing never changes
As long as I got wheels on the street
There's knees on the bedside praying
Waiting to hear, 'Hey, Ma, I made it.'"
Instantly, a tear slid down my cheek, followed by a quick snuffle. My mind filled with images of my kids learning how to drive, and my heart swelled with the fear and pride I remember feeling the first time they took a solo trip to the store or their friend's house.
I rubbed my hands across my eyes, wiped away the moisture, and tried to think of something else. But the hits kept coming...
"Suitcase by the screen door
Goodbye on the front porch
Bags and cardboard boxes
In the back seat of the car
First time crossing time zones
First time through Ohio
And I promised Mama
My phone works the same way from afar
Hey, Ma, I made it down another open road
And even though I'm grown
Thought you might like to know
I got where I meant to go
And out here, one thing never changes
As long as I got wheels on the street
There's knees on the bedside praying
Waiting to hear, 'Hey, Ma, I made it.'"
Damn! More tears as I remembered dropping my older three kids off at college, knowing my time of seeing them every day was over. And my heart broke, just a little, at the thought of dropping my last two, the twins, off at college in the coming weeks.
Who was this lady singing my feelings out loud? I looked at the display. Ella Langley was the singer. Never heard of her, but liked what she was doing. Kind of.
As my mind continued to wander down through the years, Ella continued...
"Every show I ever played
Every state and every stage
I busted my ass every day
'Til I can call and say
Hey, Ma, I made it down another open road
And even though I'm grown
Thought you might like to know
I got where I meant to go
And out here, one thing never changes
As long as I got wheels on the street
There's knees on the bedside praying
Waiting to hear, 'Hey, Ma, I made it.'"
Well, that did it. I dang near had to pull over. Eyes dripping, nose running, my heart swelled, my hands worked overtime, and I struggled to regain control.
An emotional, but fun summer.
My mind rolled back through the summer months — three graduations (one kid became a doctor, two graduated high school), one big graduation party, one bachelorette party for my daughter, one bachelor party for my future son-in-law, tons of planning for the big day in September, one trip to Ohio to say goodbye to my father-in-law, time spent with my first grandchild (the world's cutest granddaughter — sorry, world), one impromptu race to get a motorcycle license with twin number one (including a two-day skills course in Boise), one Spartan race with my oldest daughter, one dining room table build for the oldest daughter's new house, and, in the middle of it all, work and real life.
Today, Ella's song came on again and, like the first time, I had to stop what I was doing and let the tears fall where they wanted. Tomorrow, we drop twin number two off at college. Next week, we drop off twin number one. Then, it's time to pause, adjust, and move forward into our new reality.
Overall, my wife and I did a reasonably good job of living in the moment – and we'll continue to as we move forward, but there's no denying these next few weeks are going to be emotional. I know there's a lot of this going around town right now, so I thought I'd share a bit of encouragement. And if you need a good cry — give Ella Langley's "Hey Ma, I Made It" a listen. It worked wonders for me :)
